Cotton and Slavery: An Unconventional Civil War Analysis Pubblico
Small, Michael A (2011)
Abstract
Although the American Civil War was ultimately won by Lincoln's forces in 1865, the Union might not have been victorious had Great Britain decided to join forces with the Confederate States of America. Traditional scholars and historians have attributed initial British sympathy for the South to its practical need for Southern cotton in its textile industry. They maintain, though, that Britain ultimately remained neutral because of its presumption that the North was ethically superior in its abolitionist stance.
However, after examining British speeches and editorials from the Civil War era, this thesis has determined that these conventional conclusions are overly simplified, and are in some cases entirely wrong. Building off the work of more recent scholars, this thesis will first analyze the issue of cotton and determine if it were indeed a strong reason for Britain to join the South. Upon review, this thesis will show that the issue of cotton could actually be used as a strong pro-Union argument, or at least a reason to remain neutral in the conflict.
Secondly, and perhaps more provocatively, this thesis will then
deal with the issue of slavery, and why abolitionists might
actually favor the Confederacy as the side more likely to enact
positive emancipation. Sources indicate that many British were wary
of Lincoln's abolitionist stance, whether because of inherent flaws
in his plan or because British onlookers doubted Lincoln's true
intentions for abolition. The Union's poor treatment of its African
American population, and its role in the continuation of the slave
trade internationally is also analyzed in this context. Finally,
this thesis delves into the issue of Confederate emancipation. Many
British onlookers felt that the South would soon be forced to
abolish slavery for various reasons and that the methods that
Confederates would use to free slaves would be more beneficial to
their enslaved brethren than any Northern practices could be. By
analyzing these two issues, cotton and slavery, this thesis
questions and contests views typically held by historians studying
the American Civil War from the British perspective.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1.
Introduction……………………………............................……….……..1
2. Background and Pro-Union
Arguments...............................8
3. Skepticism of
Lincoln.....................................................17
4. Dark
Past.....................................................................30
5.
Slavery........................................................................40
6.
Conclusion...................................................................52
Bibliography.....................................................................58
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